A 16-year-old boy has been found not guilty of the murder and manslaughter of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe, who died after being stabbed through the heart at her home in Weston-super-Mare last December.
The jury at Bristol Crown Court returned its not guilty verdict after hearing harrowing evidence about the death of Aria, who was stabbed in the chest on 15 December last year while sitting on the sofa eating pizza and watching YouTube at her home in North Somerset.
In a statement read to the jury, Aria’s mother Victoria Hull described the ordinary family evening that ended in tragedy. She had helped Aria get ready for school that morning, then returned to collect her at 3.10pm before remembering her daughter had a dance class. Aria asked to stay, so her mother returned at 4.30pm. “Aria said she had a really good day,” Ms Hull said. “We went to Aldi and got mini-pizzas and toppings. We got home at 4.45pm and made the pizzas. Aria was eating her pizza, sitting on the sofa in the living room. She was watching YouTube on the television.”
Home Office pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery told jurors that Aria died from a single stab wound to the chest that penetrated her heart, measuring 3.2cm wide and between 7.5 and 8cm deep. “Injuries to the heart of this nature can result in sudden collapse and incapacitation,” she said. “Some victims are capable of a short period of movement before they collapse.” The distribution of blood at the scene suggested Aria collapsed very quickly. “Aria would have died very swiftly from an injury of this nature,” Dr Jeffery added. Jurors were shown a large kitchen knife with a green plastic handle and a 21cm blade, which the pathologist confirmed was capable of producing the fatal wound.
The 16-year-old defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of both murder and manslaughter by the jury.
